Mallett was born in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, on March 30, 1945, and grew up in The Bronx in New York City. When he was 10 years old, his father died at age 33 of a heart attack, which made him depressed and devastated. About one year later, at age 11, Mallett found a Classics Illustrated comic book version of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Inspired by this literature, he resolved to travel back in time to save his father.[1] This idea became a lifelong obsession and the basis of his research into time travel. Mallett served in the United States Air Force for four years, during the Vietnam War. He returned to civilian life in 1966. This was the year that the science fiction TV series Star Trek started, in which he "quickly became immersed". During its first season, Mallett watched the episode The City on the Edge of Forever that "involved both the theme of time travel and lost love", and this became his favorite of the entire series.[2]
In 1973, when he was 28 years old, Mallett earned his Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University. In the same year, he received the Graduate Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching.[3]
Mallett is a member of both the American Physical Society and the National Society of Black Physicists.[3]
In 1975, Mallett was appointed a job as assistant professor at the University of Connecticut. He was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1987 and has received multiple academic honors and distinctions.[4] His research interests include black holes, general relativity, quantum cosmology, relativistic astrophysics and time travel.[5] As of 2018, he is a Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Connecticut.[6]
In 2007, Mallett's life story of pursuing a time machine was told on This American Life, Episode #324, Act 2.
